Importing products from overseas

Racquetball, like any other sport, can be played with varying levels of dedication.

Even with no instruction, you can have fun hitting the ball around. No special clothes are needed. (Although the person in charge of keeping the courts clean will frown if your black-soled sneakers leave marks on the floor.)

The ball can’t escape the court, so you won’t spend half your time chasing it all over the place like you do in tennis.

You can hit the ball off the walls and the ceiling, which is fun. And the game is played indoors, so you don’t get blinded by the sun when you’re trying to serve.

But with a lesson or two, a bit of practice, and some specialized gear, your racquetball game will improve dramatically.

You’ll get the hang of when and how to hit the ball to make it harder to return. You’ll learn to anticipate your opponent’s shot by noting the position of his body. Wearing a glove will keep your sweaty hand from slipping and give you a better grip. An oversized racquet will provide plenty of surface area to connect with the ball.

And donning a pair of (admittedly goofy-looking) goggles will take away some of the anxiety about getting hit in the eye by a wayward bounce of the ball or swing of a racquet.

Insider knowledge is always a good thing.

And so is technology, whether it’s making us better athletes or making us more efficient and productive at keeping in touch. The world of import/export is no exception.

Just think about how you made purchases before you had a computer.

Buying a product from outside the U.S. was especially challenging and time-consuming. But now, with programs like those outlined in the Importing Fortunes program, you have the tools you need to start importing products from overseas and building your own successful import business right away, based on products you believe in.

Improvements in technology have made it easy.

Buyers these days have been trained to do searches, compare prices, and buy online. You don’t need your own website anymore, and you don’t need to convince your customers to do this. They’re already familiar and very comfortable doing business with sites like Amazon, eBay, and Craigslist. And this is where your items will sell best.

We all know there’s a markup on the goods we buy in stores. They couldn’t stay in business without it. But often the markups these big companies charge are high, and you could offer a similar product for less and still make a tidy profit.

Think about it. How much more could you travel? How much better could your life be if you had an extra $2,000 coming in each month from just a little time spent shopping online, (something you like to do anyway)?

We all have different visions of what makes a full life. You might be wishing you could spend more time with your family and friends instead of working in an office all day. Or you might have a bucket list of places around the world you’ve only read about and would love to experience in person.

There’s no getting around it: the peace of mind — and the full life — that comes with having cash to spare is priceless.

And it doesn’t take any kind of rare talent. In fact, nearly every member of our Great Escape Publishing staff has tried it. We all like it.

Christina imported and sold trendy necklaces and purse organizers. Jackie imported kid’s winter hats and iPhone accessories. Bonnie imported wired headsets and microphones that hook up to cameras. And I’ve told you about my first imports – MP3 players, tablets, photography props, bento box accessories, and (my favorite) plastic urinals that help women pee standing up (that’s a story for another day).

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel. Sign up today here and we’ll send you a report, Get Paid to Travel as a Travel Writer, completely FREE.]